Facing such an overwhelmingly prepared opponent, the Dragon King of Jing River could only choke on his own spiritual blood in sheer frustration. What he did not know was that he was far from the first to suffer this particular fate at Su Min's hands.
Even for a genuine Mahayana stage cultivator in the wider, healthier universe, obtaining a single eighth tier pill was no easy feat, often requiring great favor or immense cost. In this current era, Su Min was practically the only one capable of refining such high grade pills consistently, meaning no one else could possibly match her sheer, ridiculous stockpile of consumables.
"This fight ends now."
Seeing the mix of shock, fear, and fury on the water dragon's face, Su Min knew he had no more meaningful tricks left. She had successfully severed his connection to the Source of Ten Thousand Rivers, cutting off his near endless energy supply and his ability to flee.
With a single, decisive swing of her twin swords, the very balance of Yin and Yang in the entire region trembled and bent to her will.
"Twin Annihilation of Yin and Yang!"
In an instant, the dual, primordial forces of Lunar Sovereign and Solar Sovereign erupted from both sides of the Dragon King's colossal form, their power surging outward in a wave of absolute destruction. The countless heads of the hydra withered and crumbled to dust rapidly, and the massive water dragon's main body convulsed in silent, unimaginable agony.
"NO!!"
A desperate, final roar tore through the spiritual plane, but no matter how he struggled or thrashed, escape was utterly impossible. His every retreat had been sealed from the very beginning by her icy prison.
"AHHH!!"
A final, fading scream echoed as the colossal watery body disintegrated completely under the crushing, grinding forces of pure Yin and pure Yang.
"Hah,"
Su Min exhaled a deep, weary breath, sensing the complete and final dissipation of the Dragon King's core soul. The corresponding red dot on her jade slip winked out of existence. She deactivated her Half Step Chaos Body, the black and white receding from her hair and eyes, then descended from the sky, only for her legs to buckle weakly, nearly sending her to her knees.
"I really should not have been so cocky. Sealing the spiritual source of the entire river network while simultaneously fighting that guy almost drained me completely dry."
Her face twisted in discomfort. The battle had taken a significant toll, but now that it was decisively over, she did not need to consume any more precious Spirit Recovery Pills. After all, even the best medicine carried trace impurities. Overusing them would eventually backfire, creating latent toxins in her system.
"These two were likely the weakest of the seven. The remaining targets are four at the Mahayana middle stage and one at the late stage."
She examined her jade slip again, then took a deep, steadying breath before pulling out her Heaven and Earth Gourd and gulping down several large mouthfuls of potent spirit wine. Without a moment's hesitation, she left the cavern. The battle had not caused much external disturbance, especially since she had sealed the spiritual spring at the source. No one on the surface had been affected, and thankfully, no other powerhouses had been alerted.
So Su Min immediately found a secluded spot nearby and sat down cross legged. The water attributed spiritual energy here was still incredibly dense, and despite the dark contamination, this was still the fastest place for her to recover her water based techniques.
One full month later,
"Finally fully restored. And I have purified these new soul fragments too."
She examined the large, now calm and purified soul mass in her hand, her eyes flickering with calculation. Advancing from Unity late stage to the Mahayana stage required an astronomical amount of accumulated energy, more than the total consumption from an ordinary mortal's entire journey all the way to the Unity stage.
These newly acquired soul fragments, while substantial, were still far from enough for that great leap.
Storing them away carefully, she prepared to hunt her next target, her mind already running through the list.
"I will choose from the four Mahayana middle stage ones. The gap between each minor stage at this level is enormous, so this will not be easy at all."
After dealing with two early Mahayana stage cultivators, Su Min had learned just how far these ancient beings would go to survive. She was not entirely confident she could successfully kill any of the Mahayana middle stage targets, unless they were foolish enough to stand and fight her to the death without attempting to escape.
But that was highly unlikely. The previous two had only been trapped because she had cleverly cut off their specific escape routes first. And doing so always came at a significant cost in power and focus, one that might leave her too weakened to actually finish the job against a stronger foe.
Beep, Beep, Beep,
Just as she was lost in strategic thought, a series of urgent, piercing chimes came from the token at her waist. She pulled out the communication talisman and heard Yao Xian'er's uncharacteristically grave voice.
"Su Min, come to my location immediately. We have a major crisis on our hands. They are about to make a desperate move. If a full scale Dark Rebellion erupts in the current weakened state of the universe, it will be an absolute catastrophe."
"Huh?"
Su Min blinked in confusion. Those ancient beings were supposed to be permanently blocked by the world's foundational barriers. If they could not descend directly, then the dark creatures and cultivators should not be able to leave the Dark Universe in force.
"Get here now. It is urgent. They are going all out. I do not know why the sudden change, but this is deadly serious."
Yao Xian'er's voice cut off abruptly, and Su Min immediately shot to her feet, transforming into a streak of light that tore through the void. The coordinates led not to the Dark Continent, but to the outer edge of the Dark Universe's core region, a place she had always carefully avoided. Even Yao Xian'er had sternly warned her against ever approaching it.
But now, she was being summoned there directly.
Soon, after a frantic flight,
Upon arrival, she found Yao Xian'er and Tian Yang the Monk already waiting, their expressions somber.
"Long time no see, Benefactor Su. Even without the proper Buddhist cultivation method, I can still sense the profound aura of the Great Sun Tathāgata upon you. Your progress is remarkable."
Tian Yang greeted her with a respectful bow, his usual calm demeanor present but strained.
"Likewise, Master Tian Yang. Your presence is as steady as ever."
Su Min returned the courtesy with a small, tense smile. Though they had once schemed against each other, their subsequent cooperation had been mutually beneficial. There were no real hard feelings between them now.
"What is going on? I was in the middle of planning to hunt a Mahayana middle stage dark cultivator."
Her tone turned serious and slightly annoyed. She needed at least a few more Mahayana middle stage souls, possibly even that late stage one, to have a hope of breaking through to Mahayana herself.
Being interrupted now was beyond frustrating.
"Look closely there."
Tian Yang pointed a finger toward the crimson, swirling depths of the universe's core. Su Min's brow twitched. Out of sheer curiosity, she had ventured near this place once before, but beyond the impossibly dense dark energy, there had been nothing visibly unusual then.
Now, however, things were terrifyingly different.
The dark matter was surging violently, like a boiling pot, and the core region itself was expanding outwards at a visible, alarming rate. In the short time they had been talking, it had already spread another several kilometers.
On a cosmic scale, even if it expanded for ten thousand years, it might not matter. But the real, immediate concern was what this sudden, violent instability signified. Something that had remained unchanged for countless millennia was now shifting, and it was not a natural phenomenon.
"The Dark Immortals are preparing to forcibly descend from their Immortal Realm."
"What?"
Su Min was genuinely stunned. She did not fully understand the mechanics.
"Let me explain," Yao Xian'er cut in, her voice tight. "At the deepest, most chaotic part of the Dark Universe lies a unstable passage to what we call the Dark Immortal Realm. Successfully crossing it theoretically means ascending to immortality. But the passage is filled with chaotic, annihilative energy, even a true Ascension stage cultivator might not survive it, let alone a mere Nirvana stage one."
"I see,"
Su Min's eyes narrowed to slits. The Ascension stage referred to the legendary realm of achieving true immortality while still in the mortal world, attaining the eternal dao.
Both Yao Xian'er and Tian Yang were ultimately pursuing this goal, yet neither was even close to reaching it.
"Even if those immortals sense a powerful enough anchor and forcibly descend, they will suffer permanent dao wounds that cannot be healed in this lower universe. They will fall from their state of perfection, their power greatly diminished, hence why we call them 'Crippled Immortals.' Every few tens of thousands of years, they manage to descend once. I, the Five Elements Great Emperor, the Great Desolate Martial Sage, and the Lunar Ancient Emperor, we have all fought life and death battles against them.
The soul fragments now drifting through the Dark Universe and entering newborns, they all come from the fallen experts of those ancient wars. Countless Unity stage and Mahayana cultivators have perished here, their essence scattered."
Yao Xian'er's voice was laced with a cold, old killing intent. She had clearly experienced the brutality of those battles firsthand.
"But I have suppressed the anchors here to an extreme degree. Has the fundamental rule changed? Can those core dark cultivators now serve as anchors directly?"
Su Min's expression darkened considerably. This was very bad news.
"No. But they can descend forcibly without a perfect anchor, and they can even cast wide area curses from their side. However, cursing an entire universe from across the dimensional barrier comes at a terrible, terrible price. It may require the blood sacrifice of dozens, even hundreds, of their own immortals."
"'Yin and Yang Shall Never Meet'? Is that the reason for their desperation?"
"Exactly. They fear the Chaos Body above all else. Back when you were still on the Golden Core Avenue, I said that if you truly were a Chaos Body, I would unleash my origin power, restore myself to peak Mahayana, and personally block their descent to buy you thousands of years to cultivate in peace. But now, their fear of the Chaos Body seems even greater than I ever imagined."
"Do they know I have, or am developing, a Chaos Body?"
"No, not specifically. But for them to be willing to pave a path with immortal bones and souls to forcibly descend, there must be a compelling, terrifying reason. And I do not believe it is a trivial one."
"Neither do I."
Su Min let out a bitter, helpless laugh. The cost of using immortal remains to force their way into a lower world was unimaginably high. The fact that they were willing to pay it meant only one thing.
Somehow, from across the vast dimensional divide, they had sensed the progress of her Half Step Chaos Body.
"So what is the plan now? Should we charge into the core and try to disrupt it? I can hold my own against many Mahayana cultivators, but my power compared to you two at your peak is still lacking."
"It is too late for that. The Dark Universe is not even safe for us anymore. The pure dark energy released by the burning immortal bones will temporarily empower all the dark cultivators while simultaneously suppressing and corrupting us. And this is just the beginning pulse, they will soon envelop the entire Dark Continent and beyond."
"What a headache,"
Su Min rubbed her temples, feeling a genuine migraine coming on. This was the worst possible news.
"Exactly. Continuing to hunt there is far too risky now. Even just staying in the Dark Universe for long is becoming dangerous. We must retreat immediately. Once they enter the normal universe, they will be heavily suppressed by its foundational laws. We need to return to our home ground to make a stand."
"But what about the common people on the countless worlds in between?" Su Min asked, a pang of guilt in her heart.
Yao Xian'er could only shrug helplessly. "If the three of us fall here, countless more will die in the ensuing darkness. Besides, you still have a little time. You must focus on reaching Mahayana first. That is our only real hope."
"Fine."
What else could Su Min say? Though she had many methods and trump cards, preparing an ambush to kill another Mahayana target could take decades of planning, even a century or two. She would not always be as lucky as before, stumbling upon a ritual at the perfect moment.
But if the dark forces entered the normal universe, things would be different.
The universe's natural laws would automatically suppress the foreign dark energy, and the dark cultivators' usual tricks would be significantly weakened. Killing them would become comparatively easier.
However, there was a devastating downside, their primary target would undoubtedly be the spiritually rich Heavenly Continent.
But in the vastness of the normal universe, Heaven's Continent was just a single drop in an infinite ocean. Countless other lives on countless other worlds would suffer and die first.
Yet what choice did they have? All three understood priorities and the harsh reality of triage. Excessive compassion now would only plunge the entire world into a deeper, irrevocable despair.
"Understood. Let us return to Heavenly Continent immediately. Then, using our influence and power, we will gather a true, united cultivator alliance. This time, we will need an army, not just lone heroes."
The other two nodded in grim agreement.
Even if the enemy had Crippled Immortals leading them, they were not completely without hope. Outside the Dark Universe, even true immortals would be severely weakened by the world's will. The battle was coming to them, and they had to be ready.